Nightmares
by KawaiixCherryxBlossom
Summary: While Ash and Gary are having a Pokémon battle, Misty is accidentally hit by a nightmare attack, and the only way she can be freed from her nightmares is if somebody goes inside her mind and sets her free. Ash embarks on this journey, and finds out much


**Nightmares**

**By KawaiiCherryBlossom**

Summary:

While Ash and Gary are having a Pokémon battle, Misty is accidentally hit by a nightmare attack, and the only way she can be freed from her nightmares is if somebody goes inside her mind and sets her free. Ash embarks on this journey, and finds out much more about Misty than he knew before.

Ages:

Ash – 17

Misty – 17

Brock – 18

Gary – 17

Type: Romance/Drama

Rating: PG

Other: AAMRN

"Go, Umbreon!" Gary called as he released his Pokémon from its Poké Ball.

"Breon!" it cried out, signifying that it was ready to battle.

"Alright", Ash said, turning his cap backwards in his usual style. "I choose you, Pikachu!"

Pikachu rushed forward and stood in front of Umbreon, a determined look in its eyes as it awaited Ash's instruction.

Ash and Gary had come across each other while travelling to Barton Town, which was a small town set in the mountains, famous for its defence against landslides, which occurred often.

"Ash…maybe we shouldn't be battling here… Remember, the landslides?" Misty said, an inkling of fear present in her voice.

"Don't be silly, Misty. It'll be fine! I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master, I can handle anything!"

Misty gave him a sceptical look, but he ignored her.

"Here Togepi…you stay in my backpack just in case…" she said, as she put her egg baby into her bag and placed it on the ground next to her.

-

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash called out, and Pikachu let out a bolt of lightning at Umbreon.

"Dodge it and use headbutt, Umbreon!" Gary instructed, watching Umbreon dodge the attack with ease and launch into a headbutt, which hit Pikachu dead on.

"Pikachu, are you okay?" Ash called out worriedly, but was happy to see that it was fine. "Alright Pikachu, use agility!"

Zipping around the battle area, Pikachu caused Umbreon to become dizzy and tired. When Ash thought that Umbreon was worn out enough, he called out to Pikachu once again, "Pikachu, thunder!"

Pikachu let out another bolt of lightning, which hit Umbreon directly.

"Oh no…Umbreon! Can you stand up?" Gary called out to his Pokémon. Slowly but surely, Umbreon stood up. "Bre-breon!" it called out, letting everyone know that it wasn't giving up.

Gary smiled. "Umbreon, use hypnosis!"

Upon command, Umbreon let out a few hypnotic waves, which hit an unexpected Pikachu, causing it to fall asleep instantly.

"Oh no, Pikachu!" Ash called out. "Wake up, buddy!"

-

"Wow, hypnosis, that's pretty cool", Misty said to Brock, who was standing next to her.

"Yeah, it's a really good defence move. But I wonder what Gary will do next…" he replied.

"Now Umbreon, use nightmare!" Gary instructed, a victory grin implanted upon his face.

Umbreon prepared for the attack, but just as it was about to deliver it upon Pikachu, a large crash was heard in the distance. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Umbreon looked up in shock as it was firing its attack, directing it at Ash instead.

"Umbreon, no!" Gary called, but it was too late.

"Ash!" Misty cried, seeing what was about to happen. Suddenly, she ran ahead of him and jumped in front of her friend just as the attack was about to hit him, knocking Ash back onto the ground. However, Misty caught the full brunt of the attack, and fell to the ground as it pulsated through her body.

"Misty…?" Ash said as he got up from the ground, unsure of what had just happened. "Misty!" he called out as he saw her. Kneeling down by her side, he shook her, calling out her name softly. However, it was no use. Brock, Gary, Umbreon and Pikachu rushed to her side instantly.

"Oh gosh…I'm so sorry…" Gary said, guilt present in the tone of his voice.

"Brock…" Ash looked at him, a childlike fear in his eyes.

Brock took charge straight away. "Gary, can you get a map and find the nearest hospital or Pokémon Centre? We'll have to get Misty there right away."

Gary nodded, doing exactly what he was told.

"Brock…what does a nightmare attack do to a human…?" Ash asked in fear, not taking his eyes off of Misty.

"I don't know, Ash… But don't worry, I'm sure she'll be fine."

Ash looked up at Brock for a moment, a look of fear and concern spread across his face. His eyes then drifted back to his friends' form. The attack itself had worn off; the purple glow caused by the beam had faded. However, its effects were now inside. Her eyes were closed, her skin paler than usual.

'_It should have been me…' _Ash thought to himself. '_It was meant to hit me… Why did she do that…?'_

"Ash, it'll be okay. You have to be strong", Brock said.

Ash nodded, but didn't take his eyes off of Misty.

"The nearest Pokémon Centre is just over that hill!" Gary called out as he pointed to a hill in the near distance.

"It's not that far, let's carry her there", Brock instructed and everybody else agreed.

"Breon…" Umbreon said, a look of guilt plastered across its face.

"It's okay, Umbreon. It was a mistake", Gary said softly, patting it on the head. "Go back to your Poké Ball for now, okay?"

"Bre…" Umbreon agreed reluctantly.

"No…" Misty moaned as she tossed her head from side to side.

Ash shook her again gently. "Misty…wake up…" he said softly. There was no use, however. She continued to toss and turn as she lay on the ground.

"Brock, it's as if…" Ash started.

"She's having a nightmare…" Brock said, finishing Ash's sentence. There was silence for a moment as they looked down at Misty, who then suddenly screamed out in fear.

"Let's go, Ash. We have to get her to the Pokémon Centre right now", Brock said, as he prepared to pick Misty up.

However, Ash interjected. "No, it's okay Brock, I've got her."

"You sure?" he asked, picking up Misty's bag and Togepi.

Ash nodded as he picked Misty up gently. He blushed as he felt her smooth skin on his, but brushed his thoughts away as he proceeded to follow Brock and Gary to the Pokémon Centre.

-

Walking quickly but carefully, so as not to hurt Misty, Ash continued to look down at his friend. Her nightmares seemed to be worsening as every minute passed, sweat plastered over her forehead as she shook her head rapidly, as if trying to brush them away.

'_This is all my fault…_' Ash thought. '_She told me that I shouldn't battle there…that there were landslides… Why don't I ever listen to her?'_

"We're almost there, Ash. Are you alright back there?" Brock asked.

"Yeah…" Ash said, a sad tone in his voice. "I'm fine…"

Brock looked back at him worriedly.

"It's not your fault, Ash."

"Pika…" Pikachu, who had been rather quiet, agreed.

Ash looked up, but didn't reply.

"Please, Misty… Please be strong…" he said quietly to her sleeping form.

-

A few minutes later, the foursome reached the Pokémon Centre. Ash rushed ahead of Gary and Brock and inside the doors, being careful with Misty.

"Please, you have to help my friend!" Ash called out to anyone who was listening. Brock and Gary rushed inside and stood behind Ash.

Two Chansey's rushed over moments later and placed Misty on a stretcher, followed by the Barton Town Nurse Joy.

"Oh dear, what happened to her?" Nurse Joy asked with concern.

"She was accidentally hit by a nightmare attack", Ash explained. "Please Joy, can you help her?" he pleaded.

Nurse Joy looked unsure. "A nightmare attack…?"

Ash searched Joy's eyes but found nothing but confusion.

"There is a way to make her okay again, right?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Joy was hesitant. "I…I don't know…" she replied. "I've never heard of a case like this before…"

Ash's eyes became clouded with uncertainty and fear. "What are you saying…?"

"Don't worry, young man. We'll do everything we can for her", she said as she instructed her Chansey's to take her to a room.

Joy turned around and met Ash with a reassuring smile.

"Everything will be okay. Now, what is your friend's name?"

"It's Misty", Ash replied.

"Right, well why don't you all go to the waiting room and we'll see what we can do for her", Joy instructed. "And don't worry, Misty's in good hands here at Barton Town Pokémon Centre."

Ash nodded slightly as he turned around to face Brock and Gary.

"Ash, I'm so sorry…" Gary said slowly. "I didn't mean to…"

"No Gary, it's okay. It's not your fault", Ash said.

Gary nodded, though guilt and uncertainty were still present in his eyes.

"It's mine", Ash said, and turned to walk away.

-

"Ash!" Brock called out as he followed his friend to the waiting room. Ash didn't listen, however, nor did he stop walking. Brock reached out and grabbed Ash's wrist, spinning him around.

"This is NOT your fault, Ash", Brock told him in a strict but friendly tone.

"Yes it is, Brock! If I'd listened to what she said this never would have happened!"

"No, Ash, you could not have known that something like that could happen."

"But she warned me! I should have listened to her…" Ash said, his tone dropping to one full of worry. "She looked so afraid when she was having those nightmares… What if they can't find a way to help her…?"

"They will, Ash. They will", Brock reassured him.

Ash sighed, sitting down on a chair against the wall. Pikachu curled up on his lap, providing support for his trainer. Ash hated waiting, for good news or bad. He remembered back to his first day of Pokémon training, when Pikachu had fallen victim to that wild bunch of Spearow, and he had to take it to the Pokémon Centre to be healed. He was so worried about it, but luckily Misty had been there.

'_Misty_…' he thought to himself worriedly.

-

It seemed like they had been waiting forever when Nurse Joy finally appeared again. Ash stood up hastily and ran over to her, eager to hear any news.

"Nurse Joy, what's going on? Is Misty gonna be okay?" he asked.

Uncertainty was apparent in her eyes as she tried to find the best way to put the news.

"I don't know…" she said slowly.

"What do you mean?" Brock asked.

"I've never seen a case like this… I looked through some research on the Internet but I couldn't find anything. All I can think that is happening is that the nightmare attack has caused Misty to be trapped within her own nightmares."

"But there's no way to stop it? Can't we just wake her up?" Gary asked.

"We tried waking her up but nothing would work… I'm sorry kids but I have no idea what to do…" Joy replied.

Ash sighed worriedly. "What are we going to do…?"

"Hmmm…" Brock thought out loud, assessing the situation. "Do you think…maybe Professor Oak would know?"

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Gary said. "My gramps has done a lot of investigating into the relationships between Pokémon and humans, so maybe he would know what to do."

Ash nodded. "Well it's worth a try, let's go and call him."

-

"Hey, Professor Oak", Ash said, sitting in front of the video-phone.

"Hi Ash, hi Brock, how are you? Oh, and Gary, you're there too!"

"We're all fine, Professor…except…" Ash trailed off.

"Ash, you look worried, is something wrong?" the Professor inquired.

"Uhh… Well actually…" he said. "We need your help…"

Professor Oak nodded. "Alright, what with?"

"Well you see… Misty was accidentally hit by a nightmare attack…"

"Oh dear…" Professor Oak said, shocked.

"We don't know how to help her, Professor. Do you know how we can make Misty better?" Brock asked.

"I do…" Professor Oak said.

Ash's face brightened. "Really?" he said, as if it were the best news he'd ever heard.

"But… It won't be an easy task…"

Ash gulped. "What do we have to do…"

"Well, the power of nightmare does to a human what it does to a Pokémon – causes them to become trapped within their nightmares", he explained.

Ash nodded. "That's what Nurse Joy said."

"However, unlike what happens with a Pokémon, the power will not fade away when a human awakens, as it becomes impossible to wake them up."

"That's why Misty wouldn't wake up…" Brock said.

"Then how do we wake her up?" Ash asked.

"Well…the only Pokémon that is known to be able to reverse an attack like nightmare is an Unown."

"Unown…?" Ash said. "But…how are we meant to find one?"

"It's alright Ash, I have one here that I can send you. I've been doing some research regarding Unown's."

Nodding, Ash sighed in relief.

"But what will the Unown do?" Gary asked.

"Somebody is going to have to use the power of the Unown to go inside Misty's mind and set her free from her nightmares."

Ash, Gary and Brock looked shocked.

"Oh…" Brock said suddenly. "It must be like… Remember that time when that Unown transported us into Larvitar's mind, and we were able to set it free from its fear of humans?"

"Oh yeah!" Ash said, remembering. "So…how do we set her free then Professor…?"

"I'm not sure, Ash. That's something you'll have to figure out when you're there."

Ash nodded. "Alright, can you send the Unown right away then?"

"Yeah, sure Ash. I'll have to swap it with one of your Pokémon, however."

Ash smiled. "Sure, I'll send you Bayleef since it loves you so much."

Professor Oak looked at Ash hesitantly. "Uhh…but Ash… Oh alright…" he finally agreed.

Ash laughed. "Bayleef was asking for you the other day actually. She said that she misses you."

Professor Oak laughed hesitantly as he grabbed a Poké Ball and placed it on the transfer bench, while Ash did the same with Bayleef's Poké Ball. Pressing the 'trade' button, they both watched as the two Poké Ball's were transferred.

"Thanks a lot, Professor Oak", Ash said as he grabbed the Unown's Poké Ball.

Professor Oak nodded. "Now Ash, to activate the Unown's power, tell it to use Mind Warp", he explained.

"Mind Warp?" Ash confirmed.

"Yes, it will let you travel into Misty's mind. It's a very newly developed attack, specially formed by doctors. They developed it for use with psychiatric patients, so they can get inside their minds and find a way to help them."

Ash nodded. "Alright, thanks again Professor Oak."

"No problem Ash. Good luck", the Professor said, and his picture faded as Ash hung up the phone.

-

Ash held the Unown's Poké Ball in his hand, a look of determination present in his eyes. "Alright guys, let's do this", he said confidently.

"Who's going to go inside Misty's mind?" Gary asked.

Brock looked to Ash, who nodded. "I will", he said.

"It'll be weird to see what's inside a girl's mind", Gary said, a smirk creeping onto his face.

Ash laughed. "Should I be scared?"

Brock nodded wisely as Ash giggled. "Yes. Yes you should."

Nurse Joy, who had been looking on the whole time, came forward. "Would you like to go to Misty's room now?" she asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, let's do it."

-

Misty was tossing and turning in her bed, calling out various things as her nightmares tormented her. A Chansey stood by her side, wiping her forehead now and then. Ash walked to Misty's side and looked down at her.

"I'm so sorry Misty… But I promise I'll save you…" he said softly, finding himself blushing at his words.

"Are you ready, Ash?" Brock asked him.

Ash nodded determinedly. "Yeah, I sure am."

"Alright then… Good luck!" he said, before releasing the Unown from its Poké Ball.

Ash looked down at Misty once again. Her nightmare at the moment was a bad one, it seemed. Ash wondered what it was about, but figured that he'd find out soon enough. He felt like it was an invasion of her privacy in a way. Misty never liked to talk much about anything that was bothering her. Even if it looked like something was on her mind, she always said she was fine if anybody asked. Ash could sometimes hear her cry herself to sleep, but never pushed her to admit it. After all, Misty was never one to act weak in front of anybody. Ash was snapped out of his train of though by Brock, who was ready to use the Unown's attack. Ash nodded to him, signalling that he was ready.

"Remember Ash, you have to find a way to set Misty free from her nightmares", Brock confirmed.

"Right", Ash replied. He knew what he had to do, but just didn't know how he was going to do it.

"Good luck, Ash", Gary said.

"Yeah, good luck, and be careful", Brock added.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

Smiling, Ash thanked them.

"Alright Unown", Brock called. "Use Mind Warp on Ash and Misty!" he instructed, pointing at his two best friends.

Suddenly, the Unown began to glow as it sent a beam of bright light towards Ash and Misty. Brock, Gary, Nurse Joy, Chansey, Pikachu and Togepi shielded their eyes from the blinding light. When it faded, Ash was gone.

"Well, it worked", Gary said.

Brock nodded. "Good luck, Ash…" he said quietly.

Ash looked at his surroundings. He was surrounded by darkness so thick that he couldn't see a thing. Cautiously, he took a step forward, followed by a few more steps. Suddenly, his surroundings changed, and he appeared in what seemed to be a living room.

-

Three small girls walked in, each with a different shade of hair. One had blue, one gold and one a deep shade of pink. They ran into the room, joking and laughing amongst each other. They didn't appear to see Ash_. 'I guess they won't be able to notice that I'm here…'_ he thought to himself. Moments later, a smaller girl with orange hair walked into the room.

"Daisy, Lily, Violet, wait for me!" she called out.

_'It's Misty and her sisters…'_

"No! We like don't want to play with you!" Lily said.

"Yeah! Like go away Misty!" Violet commanded.

Misty looked hurt. She sat down on the couch as she watched her sisters run outside and play together. Tears developed in her eyes as she curled up into a ball and cried, rocking herself.

"Nobody cares about me…" she whimpered.

Ash looked heartbroken as he watched the scene, but moments later, it changed again.

-

This time, he was in a girl's bedroom. It was decorated with trophies for cheerleading competitions, pom-poms and team flags. Daisy, who looked to be about 14 years old, sat at the desk daydreaming, when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" she called out, turning from her desk to see who was there.

"Oh…it's you…" Misty, who was about 5-years-old, entered the room.

"Hi Daisy", she said innocently.

"What do you want?" her sister asked in an uncaring tone. Misty looked sad.

"Why don't I have a mommy?" she asked. A look of both sadness and anger engulfed Daisy's face.

"Because you killed her." Daisy looked a tiny bit regretful as she said it, but her anger overpowered her logic as she blamed her little sister for their mother's death.

Looking shocked, Misty ran up to her sister. "What?"

"Mommy like died when she was giving birth to you, Misty! It's like all your fault!" Daisy screamed, before running out of her room, leaving the young girl to curl up on the bed and burst into tears. "My mommy is dead because of me… Nobody will ever care about me…" she said through tears.

"Oh, Misty…" Ash thought aloud, but before he could contemplate the situation, the setting changed again.

-

This time Misty was the same age as she was when she and Ash had first met. She was walking through the gym, checking on all the Pokémon, when she saw Daisy, Lily and Violet talking and laughing in the pool.

"Hey!" Misty called out, waving to them.

Her sisters waved back and waded over to her, before lifting themselves out of the pool and grabbing a towel each.

"What were you doing?" Misty asked.

"Oh, we were like just practicing for the water show that we'll like be putting on soon", Violet explained.

"Yeah, it's gonna like totally be amazing!" Lily added.

"Water show…?" Misty said. "So…what do you want me to do in it?"

"Well actually…you're like not in it, Misty", Daisy said, looking a little guilty and uncomfortable.

"What?" Misty asked.

"You see…we're like the three sensational sisters of Cerulean City", Daisy explained.

"Four just sounds so like…wrong", Violet added.

"Like totally", Lily said.

Misty felt crushed. She and her sisters finally seemed to be getting along, but Misty should have known that it wouldn't last.

"You just don't want me in it because I'm not as beautiful as all of you are!" Misty fired at them.

"Well…we are like much more beautiful than you are, Misty, but that's not the reason!" Lily answered back.

"We just don't think you'll like be able to like cut it as a Sensational Sister!" Daisy said.

"Don't lie to me! You never liked me and you never will!"

"That's not true Misty!" Daisy said.

"You know what? I don't care anymore! I don't need any of this", Misty said. "I'm going on a Pokémon journey."

"What?" Violet said, shocked.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm leaving and I'm not coming back until I'm a water Pokémon Master!"

"Like, don't be silly Misty!" Daisy pleaded.

"I'll show all of you what I can do!" she said, before turning on her heel and running out of the pool-room. Stopping just as she was about to run through the door, she uttered, "You never cared about me anyway…" Again, she ran, wiping angry tears from her eyes.

_'So that's why she left',_ Ash thought as he watched her run from the gym. He was about to chase after her, however another of Misty's nightmares invaded her mind, causing the scene to change once again.

-

The four sisters were sitting at the table in the kitchen, eating dinner, when a knock was heard at the door. Daisy, who looked about 16, stood up to answer it. Two police officers stood in front of her, glum looks on their faces.

When Daisy walked back into the kitchen, tears were streaming down her face. Lily and Violet ran to console her.

"What's wrong, sis?" Lily asked concernedly.

"Daddy was drinking…and he like…died in a car crash…" she choked out through tears.

Silence was present in the room for a few moments, before the crying began. Violet walked out of the room while Lily and Daisy held each other, each trying to comfort the other. A 7-year-old Misty stared at her dinner, tears streaming down her face as she took in the news. "Daddy…" she cried out.

Suddenly, Violet stormed back into the kitchen.

"This is all your fault!" she cried, pointing at Misty. Wiping her eyes of the angry tears that were forming in them, she stalked over to her little sister.

"If mommy didn't like have you she wouldn't have died, and daddy wouldn't have started drinking, and he wouldn't have like been in a car accident and died! It's all your fault! You killed mommy and daddy! It's all your fault!" she screamed at Misty, who stared up at her sister in shock.

"Hey…Violet …it's gonna be okay…" Daisy said in a comforting tone.

Misty got up from her chair and ran from the room. Ash followed her as she ran to her bedroom and threw herself on her bed. Crying hysterically, she took a picture of her father from her bedside table and held it close to her.

"Daddy…" she choked out through sobs.

Ash helplessly watched her cry, tears of his own falling down his cheeks. _'What am I going to do…? How do I help Misty escape from her nightmares…?' _Ash thought to himself. However, he did not have much time to contemplate what he should do, as the scene changed once-again.

-

He was inside Misty's bedroom again, but it had changed. Misty, who was about 8-years-old, lay on her bed, wiping tears from her eyes. "Nobody cares about me… Nobody loves me…" she whimpered.

'_That's not true, Misty…'_ Ash thought to himself.

-

The setting had changed quickly while Ash was deep in thought. Suddenly, he looked up and paused in shock at what he saw.

_'That's me…'_

They were in a forest, surrounded by green, leafy trees and bushes. Ash was following Misty, who appeared to be leading him somewhere. Suddenly, she stopped and turned around to face Ash, who looked utterly confused.

"What did you have to tell me Misty?" he asked.

Misty looked down. Her arms were shaking and she was very nervous.

"Uh…are you okay?"

"Yes…" she replied, sighing.

"What is it…?"

"I needed to tell you…that I love you, Ash…" she said in a tone that was genuine, yet filled with fear and nervousness.

"What?" Ash replied.

'_What…?' _the real Ash thought as he looked on, shocked.

Misty stared into his eyes, tears developing in them as she watched him begin to laugh.

"That's a good one Misty", he said through laughter. "In love with me?" He burst into another fit of laughter as he walked away, waving his hand.

Tears fell down Misty's face as she watched him go. She curled up into a ball on the ground and cried.

"I knew you wouldn't understand…" she choked through sobs. "What have I done…? I should have known that you don't care about me…"

"That's not true, Misty!" he called out to her, running up and kneeling before her. However, she could not see or hear him. He tried to grasp her shoulders but his arms floated right through hers. She continued to cry, not even bothering to wipe away her tears as they fell down her cheeks.

"I do care about you, Misty…" he said softly, wishing she could hear him. Ash paused. "That's it!" Ash he though out loud.

-

Suddenly, Ash found himself in darkness again. _'Her nightmares must have stopped for a moment…_' Walking forward through the darkness, Ash noticed a spot of light in the far distance. He began walking towards it, noticing that it became larger as he became closer. Picking up his pace, he began to run towards the light, eager to find out whether his answer would indeed free Misty from her nightmares. When he arrived at the light, he saw Misty trapped behind a glass wall. It was completely dark on her side, a harsh contrast to the light he was now standing in. She looked desperate, trying to break the glass to reach the light. Ash ran to her, standing in front of her on the other side of the glass.

"Misty!" he called out.

She paused for a moment, as if she had heard something, but went back to her desperate attempt to break out of the darkness she was trapped in.

"Misty!" he called again and watched as she paused and looked around her, this time for longer.

"I'm here for you, Misty!" he called once again.

All of a sudden, the glass broke, and a bright light shone over Ash. He shielded his eyes from its brightness, but still it was hurting his eyes. Suddenly, he began to feel numb, to the point where he couldn't feel himself at all…

-

Ash looked around at his surroundings. He was back in the Pokémon Centre with Brock and the others. Misty still lay on the bed.

"Ash, how'd it go?" Brock asked. Ash ignored him, only thinking of Misty, and ran to her side. His eyes became wide with anticipation as Misty's eyes began to flutter.

"Ash!" she called out, as her eyes opened suddenly and she sat up, a look of fear in her eyes.

"It's okay… I'm right he…" he was cut off when Misty threw her arms around him, her body shaking and tears running down her face.

"Ash…I was so scared…" she said through sobs.

Ash hesitated, his face red and his eyes full of shock. But slowly, he put his arms around her and held her, trying to calm her down.

"It's alright Misty… It's all over now…" he said soothingly. He smiled as he felt her stop shaking. She reluctantly pulled out of their embrace as Brock and Gary made their way over to her. Ash found that he felt strangely empty when Misty pulled away.

"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu called out as it jumped up on Misty's lap.

"Hey Pikachu", Misty said, petting the small rodent.

"Toki!" Togepi, whom Brock had set upon the bed, squeaked out as it ran into its 'mother's' arms.

"Togepi…hi", Misty said, smiling at her little Pokémon.

"Are you okay Misty?" Brock asked, a concerned tone in his voice.

Misty nodded, though she did not look well. "My head hurts but I'm fine…" she said slowly. "What happened…? Did I have a fever…?"

"No…" Brock said, preparing himself to explain everything to Misty.

"It's my fault", Gary interjected.

Misty looked over to him. "What…?"

"I ordered my Umbreon to use nightmare on Pikachu, but there was a landslide in the distance and Umbreon accidentally looked up and hit you instead…" he explained.

"What? I was hit by a nightmare attack?" Misty asked, shocked.

Gary nodded. "I'm sorry…"

Seeing the honesty in his eyes, Misty forgave him instantly. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Gary nodded. "Thanks…"

"So did I just wake up? How long had I been asleep for?" she asked.

"Actually…" Ash started.

"Ash saved you", Brock interrupted.

Misty's eyes opened wide as she stared at Ash. "What…? How…?"

"We used an Unown to transport Ash inside your mind, where he then had the task of freeing you from your nightmares", Brock explained.

"You saw all my nightmares…?" Misty asked Ash slowly, fear in her eyes.

Ash nodded, but gave her a reassuring smile.

"But you're alright now, and that's all that matters."

"Now! I want you to all clear out so Misty can get some rest! Right this minute!" Nurse Joy instructed strictly as she walked into the room.

Brock and Gary followed her instruction, taking Pikachu and Togepi and leaving the room. Brock followed Nurse Joy out of the room like a shadow. His fear about Misty's health no longer engulfing his mind, he realised that he was in the presence of a beautiful lady.

"Wait, Nurse Joy!" Brock called after her as Gary rolled his eyes.

Ash looked into Misty's eyes. He could see that she was afraid, probably because he had seen everything that she was afraid of, most of which she had never talked to him about before.

"Please Ash…don't tell anyone…" she pleaded, tears filling her eyes.

"You have my word", he said softly, nodding his head.

Misty watched as he walked out, and laid back down. Not bothering to put up her defences, she let herself cry as her nightmares drifted through her mind.

_'Ash knows everything… All about my past…and all about my fears for the future… And now he knows how I feel about him…' _she thought. _'What if he thinks I'm weird or a freak… What if he abandons me…?' _Her childlike fears made their way into her mind; fears which she had since thought were part of her past. Not bothering to wipe away her tears, she cried herself to sleep.

-

Sighing to himself slightly, Ash walked down the path leading from the Pokémon Centre. He had decided that he needed some time to think. Walking slowly, he stared up into the sky. The sun had set and it was becoming increasingly dark. A full moon shone above, a large difference to the dark, velvet looking sky that it laid upon. Countless stars shone their bright light down onto the Earth. He sat down on the edge of a hill, which overlooked a river. The light from the moon reflected into the river, causing it to glisten. It was a beautiful place, he noticed. Ash stared into the water as if it would give him an answer to all of the questions he had. Firstly, there were the disturbing discoveries that he'd made about Misty's past. He wondered why she had never told him. '_Maybe she didn't want to remember it… Or maybe she didn't want me to know… I wonder if Brock knows…' _Then there was the other nightmare that Ash had witnessed…the one concerning himself. Ash was always too concerned about his Pokémon training to even think about Misty as anything more than a friend, but now that he considered it, he realised that perhaps his feelings did reach beyond friendship. He placed himself in the situation of the nightmare, and thought about what he would do. After considering this for a while, he decided that he would not have laughed off her confession. In fact, he realised that he would have agreed with it. Ash had matured quite a bit over the past year. He was no longer as irrational as before, and thought about more than just Pokémon. He had even had a few crushes on girls that they had met on their travels. However, nothing ever reached as deep as the feelings that he had for Misty. Somehow, he had known it all along, but never acknowledged it. Perhaps he was too afraid to confront it. But it was time to admit his feelings. Misty would most likely tell him how she felt about him sometime soon, after all. He did want to spend more time alone with her. He hated arguing with her, though this had subsided more and more as they got older. They were undeniably close, but Ash found himself wanting to be closer.

-

"Ash…?" he heard a voice say.

Ash turned around quickly. "Misty?" he asked as he saw her standing alone. "What are you doing awake? You should be resting…"

Misty shook her head. "I have been… I couldn't sleep any longer…" She slowly made her way to where Ash was sitting. Hesitantly, she sat down next to him, staring at the moonlight's reflection on the river. They sat in silence for a few moments, neither of them really knowing what to say.

"I'm really sorry, Misty…"

"What? What for?"

"I should have listened to you when you warned me about battling where we did…"

Misty shook her head. "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

"Yeah but I should've. From now on, I promise I'll listen to you more, okay?"

Misty nodded, smirking a bit. "Alright…"

"Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you jump in front of me like that…?"

Misty looked down. "Well…I just… I don't know…" she stuttered out. "I just…did it…"

The two fell into another bout of somewhat uncomfortable silence. Ash and Misty sat fidgeting with the grass or their shoelaces, not knowing how to begin talking about what each of them wanted to discuss.

Finally, Ash spoke again. "I…won't tell anybody…if that's what you want."

Misty nodded. "Thanks…" Her eyes were fixed on the river ahead of her. Ash noticed that she had not turned to look at him once.

"Misty?" he asked, and on instinct, she turned to look at him. Her eyes were still filled with fear, and they were red, obviously from crying. Instantly, she turned away. A concerned look spread over Ash's face.

"Do you want to talk about it…?" he asked her.

She did not answer.

"It's good to talk about things…" he explained. "When I was young, and Gary used to pick on me, I would always talk to my mom about it and it would make me feel better."

Again, Misty did not answer.

"You know that you can trust me…right?"

Misty nodded. "Yes", she replied.

"Then…you can tell me anything…"

Misty found herself slipping again. Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Her shoulders began to shake, half from the fear of letting her emotions run free in front of Ash and the other half from the fact that she was upset.

Ash noticed this. He knew he had to do something to calm her, to make her feel like she was safe. He lifted his arm slowly, and hesitantly put it around her, pulling her closer to him. Ash was glad that she couldn't see the red streaks across his cheeks. Misty was shocked at the gesture, but let him pull her closer. Giving way to her tears, she let them pour out of her eyes as she sobbed in his arms. She felt protected, like she was safe and had nothing to fear. Ash soothingly rubbed her arm with the arm that he had wrapped around her as she cried, his face blushing a deep red. He could feel his heart beating at what he guessed was about one thousand beats per second, and hoped she couldn't feel it.

"I just…" she began to talk. "I thought I had put all of that behind me…"

"About what happened in your past?"

"Yeah… I hardly ever have nightmares about that anymore… But everything just came flooding back…" Misty trailed off, and silence prevailed between them again. Misty pulled out of his embrace, wiping her eyes and pulling herself into a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"You're a very strong person, Misty."

Misty did not answer, so Ash continued. "I bet your parents are so proud of you."

Misty turned her head, shocked that Ash would say something so…heartfelt. She looked into his eyes.

"You think so…?"

"I know so", Ash replied, smiling at her, looking into her eyes. Time seemed to slow as they stared into each other's eyes. When they realised, however, their cheeks turned a deep shade of red, and they looked away.

"How did you set me free?" Misty asked moments later.

"Well…" Ash explained. "I told you that I cared about you…since in a lot of your nightmares you were upset because you thought nobody did…"

Misty nodded, staring at the moon's reflection once again. She knew that she couldn't avoid the inevitable forever. Ash saw in her nightmares how she feels about him. '_I wonder if he feels the same way… No…he couldn't. Ash wouldn't think of me in that way…'_

Ash looked over at Misty, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"You okay?"

Misty nodded slowly, remaining silent.

"Ash…?" she said quietly, moments later.

"Yeah?"

"I… I just wanted to say…" she stuttered, before stopping herself. She was about to lose her best friend because of her selfishness, because of her stupid feelings.

"Misty…?" he said softly, his face turning a deep red. She turned to look at him and noticed that he was blushing.

"You don't have to…" Slowly and gently, he took hold of her arm and moved his face closer to hers. He looked into her eyes for a moment, seeing what looked like a mixture, of fear, longing and uncertainty. Bit by bit, he edged closer to her, before finally kissing her gently on the lips. When he pulled away, he looked into her eyes, as she looked into his, neither of the two saying anything.

"I…" Misty finally stumbled out.

"I do care about you, Misty", Ash said. "And I…I really like you…a lot…" he continued, blushing.

Misty blushed herself. "I do too, Ash…" she said. "A lot…"

Ash smiled.

'_I can't believe it…he actually likes me back… I can't…believe it…' she thought._

"How long have you felt this way?" Ash asked.

"Ever since we were kids…" Misty replied.

Ash nodded. "I think I did too…but I never really realised it because I was too caught up thinking about other things."

"I always hoped that was the case", Misty said. Silence fell upon them once again.

"Hey Misty…"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to know that…you can talk to me about anything, anytime…"

Misty smiled slightly. "Thanks, Ash…" Misty closed her eyes, still tired from the day's ordeal.

"We should be getting you back… You need to rest", Ash said.

Misty nodded. "Okay", she replied as Ash helped her up.

Ash quickly took hold of Misty's hand, blushing as he did so. Misty smiled, and they made their way back to the Pokémon Centre.

"By the way, Misty…" Ash said while they were walking.

Misty glanced at him. "What is it?"

"I think you're more beautiful than all of your sisters put together", he said genuinely, redness again creeping across his face.

She looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you, Ash."

"Huh? For what?"

"For…everything."

Ash smiled at her, blushing, as they walked back to the Pokémon Centre in silence, their futures seeming as bright as the moon above.

**THE END**

I hope you liked it! Please don't flame me if I got anything regarding the Pokémon battle or that kinda stuff wrong, coz I'm not exactly an expert about it... I'd love to hear from you, though, if you have any feedback. Thanks for reading!

Love and light,

Serenity (goin' by my full name now, hehe)


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